UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait took the UN Security Council's monthly presidency from Kazakhstan on Thursday, pledging to highlight in February the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in the maintenance of international peace and security.
Mansour Al-Otaibi, permanent representative of Kuwait to the UN, told a press conference that Kuwait has chosen "as its centerpiece a ministerial-level briefing on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in the maintenance of international peace and security, with the Secretary-General as the main speaker."
Counter-terrorism is a hot topic in the month. There will be two counter-terrorism briefings this month: one on UN counter-terrorism efforts against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, by Under-Secretary-General Vladimir Voronkov, the head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism; and the other on a report from the 1373 Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) on the implementation of resolution 2341 concerning critical infrastructure.
The Council will be following closely the outcome of the January meetings on Syria in Vienna and Sochi, said Al-Otaibi, adding that it will have the regular briefings on the political and humanitarian situation and on chemical weapons.
Other Middle East issues that will be considered are an update on the activities of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), the regular monthly meeting on Israel-Palestine, and an update on the political process and humanitarian situation in Yemen.
The Council will continue to follow developments in South Sudan and will be briefed on the Secretary-General's confidential 30-day report on the deployment of the Regional Protection Force, said Al-Otaibi.
It is also expected to receive the recommendations of the Secretary-General on the strategic review of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), he said.
There will be discussions on two more African issues: an update on recent developments in Burundi, and developments in the Central African Republic (CAR) and activities of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the CAR (MINUSCA).
Two mandate renewals are expected this month: the mandate of the Panel of Experts of the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee and the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office (UNIOGBIS) in Guinea-Bissau.
The Council will have its quarterly meeting on the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and another on the activities of the 1718 DPRK Sanctions Committee.
Other issues that the Council will be following closely include the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Myanmar, said Al-Otaibi.
The presidency of the Council is held by each of the 15 members in turn for one month, following the English alphabetical order of the Member States names. It is the second time that Kuwait holds the Council presidency with the first one in February 1979.
